EAST LONGMEADOW – Police are seeking help from the public as they probe a rash of residential breaks-ins, reported in various areas of town, that stretch back to July and have continued up to this week.

In a number of the breaks-ins, the suspect was careful to hide the traces of his or her entry and targeted small items like personal electronics and jewelry, police said. Most have occurred during the daylight hours and several days often elapse before a resident realizes that items have been stolen

“The method of many of these breaks has been stealth,” said Sgt. Patrick T. Manley. “They have been careful not to get too greedy and grab everything that they could.”

Such so-called stealth break-ins were reported in mid-August and early September, two on North Circle Drive and a third not too far away on East Circle Drive, Manley said. Entry in two of those breaks-ins was gained by cutting window screens and in the third case, by prying open a door.

In one of the instances, a woman hadn’t realized her jewelry had been taken until she started to get ready to go to a wedding. In another, a woman had been preparing to go to a funeral when she noticed her jewelry missing.

A woman who lives in the same neighborhood told police she believes she may have been subject to a break-in attempt on Sept. 17 when a man knocked on her front door and then went around the back and tugged at the rear door which had also been locked.

The woman waited fifteen minutes before calling police and when they arrived he had already driven away.

Manley said its not known whether that incident was related to the other three in that neighborhood.

Police are also probing another North Circle Drive break that was reported around July 4. They don’t believe it is related to the ones that came later, however, because a large number of items stolen from the house.

“You would have needed a vehicle for this one,” Manley said, adding that this initial North Circle Drive break-in was similar to another reported later on Prospect Street which also saw a large number of items taken.

Other clusters of break-ins have been reported, some stretching back to July, in the Allen Street and Forest Hills Road area and near the center of town on Maple and Prospect streets and Mapleshade Avenue.

The most recent break-ins include Hillside Drive, reported on Sept. 18 and Bayne Street, reported on Wednesday.

Manley said the delay in the reporting of many of the break-ins, in some instances because residents were away on vacation, have made them harder to investigate.

Manley said residents who see suspicious or unknown persons in their neighborhoods should contact police as soon as possible. “Help us help you,” Manley said.